Two local men are wanted for the murder of Jose Gutirez in the Myrtle Beach area. Police are currently searching for suspects by the names of Shelton Lathal Butler Jr. and Donavon Curtis Johnson. The information about the crime including pictures of both of the suspects can be found as an attachment at the bottom of this entry. The purpose of this blog entry is to inform the reader about the crime of murder as applied in South Carolina.
At common law, murder is defined as the killing of a person with malice aforethought. Malice aforethought requires the doing of a wrongful act intentionally and without just cause or excuse. Malice aforethought does not require ill will or hate for the victim but rather a general recklessness for the life of the victim. All that is needed for murder is that one conceived the design to commit an assault or battery upon the victim and as a consequence the victim dies.
The penalty for murder carries jail time that could reach life in prison or the death penalty. In order for a person to be convicted of murder, the State must meet the burden of proof required for murder. The state must prove the assault and the death occurring from it as well as the time and place of the assault and time and place of the death.
The defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. It is my hope that justice will be served in this case and that the families of both the victim and the suspects will find peace in the court’s final judgment.
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